Phantoms
by Raya Light
Summary: PGSM based. COMPLETE A Halloween story written in response to a challenge on pgsmfanfiction. Minako has a little trouble with a ghost. Not scary... But rated Kplus just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: _As usual, I disavow any rights to the characters from Pretty Guardian SailorMoon. They all belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Bandai._

_The following story is based on the Live Action version of SailorMoon (PGSM) and was written in response to the October 2005 challenge on pgsm-fanfiction. I hope you enjoy it! Further notes at the end of this chapter for those unfamiliar with PGSM. - Raya_

**Phantoms**

A young woman wearing a floppy hat and sunglasses stood prayerfully in front of the gravestone, eyes closed, hands held together in front of her chest. The warm summer wind stirred her hair, and shook the small wind chime she had placed into the gingko tree branch over the grave. Beside the grave and tree, the waves from a small lake splashed quietly to shore.

_(One week earlier…)_

Aino Minako cradled Artemis in her arms and watched critically from the scant shadows of a nearby building as a tall, masked man in a tuxedo walked cautiously down an alley. With sure, but cautious movements, he checked his surroundings, searching for something. She frowned as she saw faint wisps of fog appear out of the opening in the wall to his right. Quickly, she glanced over at the dark haired woman at her side and then back at the caped figure.

A brisk, hot wind blew down the alley, fluttering the man's red lined cape and making the faint wisps of fog disappear. The man paused, and tightened his grip on his black cane. Prepared for anything, he stepped into the opening and turned to look into it. He froze, as if shocked by what he saw.

For a long moment, nothing moved. All that could be heard was the distant sounds of traffic. And then, a voice cut through the air. "All right, CUT!" the woman next to Minako cried. "Nice job, Endou-kun," the director called as she stepped into the alley. "Who started the fog machine so early?"

Minako smiled as she listened to the various technicians deny responsibility. "Nice job," she said to Endou as he passed by her. He gave her a faint smile, and continued to walk over to his shaded chair to try and find some relief from the summer sun. Many people didn't realize how hard it was to simply walk down an alley naturally with a camera recording your every move, much less while wearing an uncomfortable costume and trying not to sweat. After over five years in the idol business, Minako did, and she always tried to complement the people who did it well.

"Poor man," another woman standing next to her said sympathetically. "A full tuxedo in this heat?"

Minako nodded with a wry smile. "And with a cape, gloves, and top hat, too. Endou-san must be sweltering."

"I'm so glad I get to wear a dress," a girl standing with them said fervently in a whiny voice. Minako fought the urge to grind her teeth and roll her eyes. Instead, she made the most of her acting training and kept a pleasant expression on her face.

"You won't appreciate it quite so much in the next few scenes, Sari-chan," the first woman said sympathetically. "I hear it's going to be cool in that building. They plan to have lots of fog, which means it will probably be damp, too."

Sari shivered. "Sounds scary," she whimpered.

"Well, it _is_ supposed to be a youma's lair," Minako couldn't resist pointing out. "It's supposed to look scary. Right, Hina-san?" She glanced down as Artemis extended his claws just enough to nick her reprimandingly.

"Mmm," the first woman agreed as she nodded her head. Sari just shivered again.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen, that's a wrap," the director called as she walked back down the alley. "Load up. We need to hurry if we're going to get the light right for the fight scene."

Minako grimaced slightly, knowing that Hina would prefer to sit with Endou. The two of them had been working together since the very first episode of Phantom Thief over a year ago. There were rumors that the two might be even closer than that, although they had not shown any signs of it on the sets. Minako was inclined to believe the rumors, though, and so she didn't have the heart to ask Hina to sit next to her on the bus.

Which meant that Sari would probably claim the seat. While the young idol was truly anxious to learn, her voice, personality, and over-eagerness grated on Minako's nerves. And since she had a bad case of idol worship for Minako, it was even worse. It meant that the younger girl sought her out more often, and that Minako couldn't be rude to her without feeling like she was being mean and rude to an innocent fan.

Artemis disliked the girl, too, claiming that she was even more excitable than Usagi. Besides, she had come very close to kissing him once, and he never wanted that to happen again. Fortunately, Minako had rescued him. The claws earlier had been out of his fear that the girl would squeal at the thought of a scary place, and hurt his sensitive ears.

"Minako-chan!" a familiar voice called. Minako's face lit up with well concealed relief as she turned away from Sari, who had been just about to speak, to wave at her manager. Artemis sighed happily at the narrow escape.

"Minako-chan, we need to work," Saito said as he passed her on the way to the bus. Instinctively, Minako fell into step beside him. "Eri-chan has come up with some costume designs for your next live concert, and we have to pick the songs. You have picked your theme, haven't you?" he asked as he looked at her questioningly.

"Yes, yes," she replied as she rolled her eyes.

A beaming smile bloomed on his face as he turned to face the door to the bus. "Wonderful!" he said in English as he climbed up the stairs and walked to the back. "Wonderful. This will be easy, then." Minako sighed, knowing better than to believe that. Her manager loved to needle and push her, and if he couldn't get her on one thing, he would find something else. And, he was a perfectionist. It was going to be a long ride. She smiled at the thought.

Almost an hour later, she was so engrossed in set designs that she didn't notice what their destination was. Crushed beside her into the corner of the seat, Artemis tried to stay still and not draw attention to himself. He lost it when the bus hit one particularly deep pothole and Minako crushed him. Fortunately, his breathless cry of pain was lost in the general screams and complaints of the other passengers on the bus.

Minako looked up from the Saito's computer and out the window with a frown. The frown deepened as something about the crumbling buildings and equipment tugged at her memories.

"Where are we?" Sari whined from somewhere in front of her. "This place is so spooky." Several others on the bus murmured agreement as the bus came to a halt in front of one of the larger buildings.

"All right, everyone," the director called. "Makeup rooms are on the first floor to the left. Captives and Tetsu-kun first. We're a little earlier than I thought, so we'll shoot the lockup scene first. After that, the fight scene." She glanced at her watch. "The rescue scene will probably have to wait for tomorrow. Okay, people, let's go, let's go, let's go. Light's a wasting..."

Grumbling irritably at each other, the actors and actresses descended from the air conditioned bus and walked reluctantly into the building. As Minako stepped onto the ground, her head came up sharply. Cautiously, she looked around.

"I sense a darkness," Artemis murmured. His whole body had gone tense at the same time as Minako's. "Be careful." Minako nodded slowly with a soft sound of agreement.

"Minako-san, hurry up," one of the assistant directors called out anxiously. The idol blinked, and then nodded and hurried forward. She took one last quick glance around before the door closed behind her, and the merry-go-round nearby finally jarred the memory loose in her head. "Pierrot Kingdom..." she muttered quietly as she let herself be ushered into the makeshift makeup room.

A half hour later, strategically dirtier and more rumpled, Hina, Minako, and Sari stood with a small group of women in front of a mirrored funhouse. "Be careful," the assistant director told them. "There could be some broken glass in there. A couple of the mirrors broke, and we may not have been able to get all of it up. Now, Tetsu-kun is going to 'throw' you in, just like we practiced back at the studio. Make it look real, but don't hit any of the mirrors."

The women nodded, most not looking too pleased at the prospect. Sari shivered and whimpered quietly about how scary the funhouse looked. Minako and Artemis exchanged significant looks, and the plush cat jumped down discreetly and slipped around the side of the building.

"All right," the director called briskly. "Places everyone. Effects!" Around the perimeter of the group, technicians dropped pellets of dry ice into cleverly disguised containers of water. Theatrical fog quickly billowed out, hanging in the air close to their knees. "Cameras!" The cameramen leaned into their eyepieces and started rolling.

The director nodded and pointed at Tetsu, who was dressed as a youma. His outfit was a strange blend of a ninja costume with a tattered ballerina skirt hanging in ribbons from his waist and a ragged phantom. The actor spun artistically, and grabbed his nearest prisoner. Silently, he spun her in a slow circle, and then threw her into the funhouse. The woman screamed convincingly in fear as she tumbled through the door.

Sari whimpered and shrank close to Hina and Minako as he repeated the process with several of the other women. "You can do it, Sari-chan," Hina said gently from the side of her mouth. Her words were almost lost in the screams of the other women, just as she intended them to be.

"I hate ghosts..." Sari whined in response. "I hate scary things..." She squeaked when Tetsu grabbed her arm. Dispensing with the circle, he just shoved her gently towards the doorway. Reluctantly, the young idol let herself fall in. Quickly, Minako, and then Hina followed her.

"Cut!" the director called.

"EEEEKKK!" Sari screeched. The women around her winced and covered their ears.

"What is it now, Sari-chan?" one of them asked a little impatiently. Sari pointed a trembling finger at a white shape that stood frozen in the mirrors in front of her. The women's eyes widened in shock, and several others screeched in fear.

"Wait," Hina said as she blinked. "Minako-san, isn't that your cat?"

"Umm..." Minako gulped, caught by surprise.

"Yeah. It's okay, Sari-chan, it's just Minako-san's good luck charm," one of the other women said soothing. Some of the group gave the older idol amused glances.

"It... It looks scary!" Sari stuttered, still shivering in fear.

"It's just a stuffed animal," Minako said soothingly.

"Why don't you go put it away?" Hina asked meaningfully as she helped to sooth Sari. Minako grimaced and turned to pick up her adviser.

"Okay, ladies, now we're going to have some light effects," the director called from the doorway. Minako stopped and turned to listen. "It might get a little disorienting, so don't move around too much, okay? But act really scared."

"Yes, ma'am," most of them chorused. Minako stiffened and looked around once more as the director closed the door.

Floating high above them, unseen in the shadows, a floppy, stuffed dog watched them with glass eyes. "Who dares...?" a soft voice whispered angrily. "Who dares to play in my play house?"

Sari moaned and shivered as several of the other young women looked around. Minako's face tightened even more as her instincts screamed that there was danger close by.

"That wasn't funny," one of the women called. "Stop it."

"Look!" Sari whimpered, pointing at Artemis again. "It moved! It moved! No one touched it, but it moved!"

Minako spun around to look behind her, and Artemis gave her a sheepish look. He had indeed changed positions, trying to sneak out while everyone was distracted. She glared at him with her dark eyes, silently ordering him to stay still.

Suddenly, the room filled with fog, and the lights began to flicker crazily. The group of women screamed in fear. For several minutes, they screeched and cried, disoriented and afraid. They began to huddle together, seeking comfort in each other.

"Be quiet!" the soft voice hissed. "You're hurting my ears! My play house isn't for noisy people." Unseen, the little dog shook itself at the strangers below it. The women moaned and screamed some more, convinced now that the fog and lights were supernatural in origin.

"If you want to scream then have something to scream about," the voice griped. The women jumped as a mirror nearby shattered. The voice laughed, and the little dog bounced in the air.

The movement caught Minako's eye, and she gasped as she recognized the stuffed animal. Moving instinctively, she separated herself from the others in the group and began to gesture.

"Hold, woman," she heard a familiar voice say sternly. Gasping once more, she turned and stared at Kunzite. The dark haired general gave her a stern look.

"What do you want?" she asked suspiciously as she saw the other three members of the Shitennou appear behind him.

"For you to leave," Kunzite answered her with a quirked eyebrow, his tone implying that it should have been obvious.

Zoicite sighed and gave the taller man a wry look. "This is _our_ duty, Venus," he said as he turned his eyes back to Minako. "Earth business."

"Besides, you can't transform any more," Jadeite reminded her. Although his voice was helpful, his eyes teased her for forgetting such a simple thing. Her face tightened as she glared at him. Beside him, Nephrite rolled his eyes and smacked the smaller man on the back of his head. Minako noticed that his eyes shone, though, as if he appreciated the joke at her expense.

"I don't need your help," she growled as another mirror shattered and the women screamed again. Kunzite just snorted softly at her as he turned away with a flare of his cloak. Zoicite shook his head gently as if exasperated.

"Would you two stop, please?" he sighed. "The Master has married the Princess. One day you're going to have to learn to work together." He looked at Minako and his wry expression became serious. "As I said, this is Earth business."

"If that is Mio..." Minako started, her eyes narrowed.

Jadeite interrupted her. "It's not. It's a young girl. She decided to take up residence here a few years ago. She hasn't hurt anyone yet, so there was no real hurry to make her leave, but now..." His face became serious as his voice trailed off.

Minako studied them, and then relaxed with a sigh. She still wasn't happy, but they were right. If there was no threat to the Princess, and they were around to handle the situation, she would be overstepping her bounds if she interfered. She nodded reluctantly.

The men turned away, Zoicite with a small bow and an ironic smile, and stepped into the entry way where the women were huddled in fear. The special effects cut off, and faintly the director could be heard yelling "Cut!" The women didn't move, staring at Artemis, who had moved again, and the stuffed dog floating above them.

When they spied the men, they squeaked and drew tighter into their huddle. Hina, a little braver than the rest, shifted reluctantly around to place herself between the women and the men. Her eyes flew to the back of the room when she heard Minako's voice.

"It's all right," Minako said as she glared up at the floating dog and circled her way cautiously around to the women. "They won't hurt you."

"Much," Nephrite joked very softly, earning a glare from Kunzite. Jadeite chuckled, and then turned it into a cough when the glare turned to him.

Satisfied that the two had been sufficiently repressed, at least for now, he turned his attention to the space above them. Oddly, his eyes softened as he looked up. "I like your puppy," he said gently.

There was a pause of shocked silence, and then a little girl dressed in an elementary school uniform faded into view above them. "So what," she muttered as she drew the stuffed animal protectively closer to her chest. The frightened women moaned and tried to draw even closer together.

Kunzite smiled. "And your spunk," he added approvingly. She just narrowed her eyes and glared at him. Noticing this, Minako smiled and nodded her head. Kunzite ignored them both.

"But, it's time to leave these women alone now," he said sternly. His face tightened as the little girl pulled down her bottom eyelid and stuck her tongue out at him. Minako, Jadeite, and Nephrite quickly covered their mouths and fought back their laughter as Zoicite, Hina, and another woman smiled.

"There's a fine line between spunk and insanity," he said warningly, his voice still soft. Zoicite stepped forward and put a restraining hand on his shoulder as the little girl gave a soft "hmph" and turned her head away with her nose up in the air. Cautiously, she watched them out of the corner of her eye.

Kunzite tilted his head to the side and gave Zoicite an unreadable look. The two men nodded to each other, and Kunzite turned back to the girl. As Zoicite raised his hands, the taller man addressed the ghost once more. "It is time to move on."

The girl shook her head strongly in denial and broke another mirror. The soft sound of a piano began to waft around the room. The girl ignored it as she glared down at the men below her. "I want to stay here," she said stubbornly. "I'm having fun. Or, I was until all those old women started screaming."

"Old women!" Sari exclaimed, sitting up straight and momentarily forgetting her fear. She shrank back again as the ghost turned her dark eyes towards her.

"Fraidy-cat old women," the girl sneered. Around her, the music grew a little louder. The sneer faded into a look of confusion as she looked over to Zoicite.

"It is time to move on," Kunzite said again.

Her eyes snapped to his, and she began to look afraid. "Nooo," she wailed. "Don't want to go! I wanna stay! I wanna play!" The shards of scattered glass began to slowly lift up from the floor and swirl in the air.

Hina flinched as several came near her, and then stared in surprise as Minako moved between her and danger.

Nephrite glanced over at them and frowned. Suddenly, a red shield surrounded the women. Minako smiled wryly at him, and quirked an eyebrow. He turned studiously away, refusing to acknowledge that he was protecting her as well.

Jadeite's eyes narrowed and a yellow glow surrounded the Shitennou as well. The little girl howled in anger and the glass shards began to attack the shields.

"It is time to move on," Kunzite said again sternly as the music reached its peak. Around the little girl, a silver light began to form. The space behind her became even blacker, and then was speckled with little flecks of flickering silver lights. Clutching the stuffed dog to her chest, the girl wailed as her essence began to be sucked in by the blackness.

"Wait!" Minako said as she moved forward. The Shitennou turned to glare at her, but her eyes were fixed on the little girl above them. A sympathetic expression filled her face. "Only a moment, please," she said quietly.

Zoicite turned to Kunzite with an inquisitive expression. Slowly, the dark haired man nodded.

"Hey... What's your name?" Minako called gently.

Sobbing, and sensing a possible reprieve, the little girl looked down at her. "Chieko," she managed to get out. "Daijou Chieko."

Minako nodded gently. "How do you do, Chieko-chan, my name is Aino Minako." She paused, and as expected, the little girl perked up a little. She smiled and nodded again, and the little girl relaxed her hold on the stuffed dog and began to smile. "O-ban is next week, did you know that?" she asked. Cheiko's smile faded away. "I'm a little worried, though," she continued ignoring the girl's darkening expression. "My grandfather went up to the kingdom on the moon late last year, and I don't think he'll remember." She gave the child a conspiratorial look. "He's always forgetting things like that." Chieko relaxed a little, and smiled slightly. "What's even worse, I hear the moon kingdom is filled with all of his favorite things like chocolate and flowers and amusement parks. He's probably so distracted he'll completely loose track of time. So I was wondering... Could you find him for me? Please? And let him know that I'll be visiting his grave with a song and a big bowl of yellow cherries? I might even bring him a little sake if I can find his favorite brand. Would you do that for me?"

Chieko looked at her with a frown, and then looked at the Shitennou. "They have an amusement park?" she asked reluctantly. When Minako nodded, she considered it a little more. "Does it have a mirror maze?" she finally asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think so," Minako said consideringly. "I mean, after all, that's one of the best parts of an amusement park, isn't it?"

Chieko smiled and nodded. Her smile faded once more. "Um... What's your grandfather's name?" she asked tentatively.

Minako smiled. "You'll do it? Oh, thank you! I was so worried he'd forget. His name is Kinno Tate-san."

"Kinno Tate-ojiisan," Chieko said experimentally. She nodded, and then smiled. "Okay. I'll let him know that you said that you would see him soon." She allowed herself to fall gently back towards the star speckled field behind her, taking the stuffed puppy with her. "Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, Chieko-san! Thank you again!" Minako called as she waved.

Kunzite tossed something up to the girl. "Give that to a grand looking woman named Demeter," he called as she began to fade from sight. "She will make sure you see your amusement park." Chieko smiled brightly, and then disappeared.

The silver light slowly swirled in and closed the hole, until nothing was left but a point of light. Then, even that winked out. The four Shitennou turned and looked at Minako who still had a smile on her face. That smile got wider at their range of curious and disgruntled expressions.

"It's easier to get children to do what you want them to if they think they are helping you, doing something only they can do, or will be rewarded," she explained. '_And I couldn't let her go over so afraid_,' she thought to herself silently. '_Not when I've faced that fear myself_.'

Kunzite and Zoicite nodded, the white haired man looking even paler than before. "Thank you for calming her," Kunzite said reluctantly, sounding as if would rather choke on the words. Nephrite and Jadeite grinned. Minako just nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"Are... Are you guys some kind of superheros?" Sari asked shakily as she sat up. Immediately, Kunzite flushed slightly, and he and Zoicite shifted uneasily. Jadeite quirked a blonde eyebrow and grinned.

"Hardly," Nephrite quipped with a glare. "We are..."

"Just leaving," Zoicite said as he silenced his hotheaded teammate. "Farewell, ladies," he said with a bow. Quickly, the four men faded back into the shadows and disappeared. Instead of squeaking in fear, Sari sighed happily. This time, Minako did roll her eyes.

Everyone jumped as the door creaked open. "Hey, are you all going to sit in there all day?" the assistant director asked curiously. "We're about ready to pack up out here." The women stared at him blankly.

Suddenly, Sari shrieked again. Not bothering to jump, the women turned to look at her, and then to the mirror where she was pointing. "It's gone!" she wailed. "It's gone! Minako-sempai's stuffed cat moved all on its own again! I'm scared!"

Hina and Minako sighed. "Come on, Sari-chan," Hina said gently. "Let's just get out of here." Slowly, the women dragged themselves out of the mirror maze entry way and off to the bus for the trip back to their hotel and sanity.

"Oh no..." Sari moaned stopping suddenly.

"Now what?" Hina asked with threadbare patience.

"We didn't film the rescue scene. We're going to have to go back in there..." the younger girl moaned as she shivered.

Minako gently threw an arm around her shoulders and made her start walking again. In the crook of her other arm, she held Artemis. "It's okay, Sari-chan," she said encouragingly. "The ghost is gone now. And next time, I'll be sure to leave Artemis locked on the bus."

Fuming, Artemis nicked her arm with his claws once more. Minako just smiled and tightened her grip on him as Sari's face lightened.

"Do you think the superheros will be there again?" the young idol asked curiously infatuation showing clearly on her face.

Minako chuckled. "Maybe... Just maybe..."

To be continued...

* * *

_A/N: Although I posted this as one long story over on pgsm-fanfiction, I decided to split it for this one. Hope you guys don't mind. _

_PGSM (Live Action) differences from BSSM (manga, anime, musicals) (other than hair and eye color):_

_1) Hina is actually Mamoru's former fiancee. In PGSM, Hina's family took Mamoru in after his parents' death. Her father is paying for all of his upkeep and schooling. He really likes Hina, but I think he sees her more as a sister than a fiancee. When she discoveres that he likes Usagi, Hina decides to call the wedding off. In a special little video short, we discover that she tried out for the lead female role in Phantom Thief on a whim and won the part. And yes, the Phantom Thief is based quite heavily on Tuxedo Kamen, and she implies that she would like to get to know the actor who plays him better. Oh, and it's very unlikely that Minako would know that Hina and Mamoru have a past unless Hina was invited to the wedding, and even then only if someone thought to mention it.  
_

_2) Something you may have gotten from other PGSM stories, including mine: Luna and Artemis are stuffed plushy dolls, not real cats._

_3) Mio is one of the "main" bad guys in PGSM, although she isn't quite as important as the Shitennou. Think of her as a very powerful youma. She was actually created from Queen Beryl, almost like a shadow of her, although she is a lot more child like than the Queen of Darkness. Too bad she was definitely gone before this story took place...  
_

_4) The Shitennou look different, too. Jedite still has blond hair, but that is about it. Zoicite is the white haired one, while Kunzite has long flowing black hair. Nephlite has short red/brown hair that is gelled straight up. Some viewers believe that Zoicite and Venus may have been a couple during the Silver Millennium, but I don't interpret the scenes between them that way. Ami and Nephrite are strongly hinted at as a future couple, while Makoto ends up with Motoki (Andrew)._

_5) Sari, the director, Chieko, and the miscellaneous actors and actresses (except Endou and Hina) are my own creations._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: _As usual, I disavow any rights to the characters from Pretty Guardian SailorMoon. They all belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Bandai._

_The following story is based on the Live Action version of SailorMoon (PGSM) and was written in response to the October 2005 challenge on pgsm-fanfiction. I hope you enjoy it! _

_Hello to my two reviewers, Thorn on a Rose (The Artemis mirror scene was originally my central plot, but I thought it needed something a bit more. Like a real ghost. I'm glad I managed to still keep it funny!) and Angus MacSpon (Thanks! I agree, usually, so that is how I try to write most of the time.). Thank you both for reviewing. They brightened my day._

_This section is a bit more light-hearted than the last... I did not do nearly as much research as I usually do for a subject I know little about, so please forgive me for any unintentional disrespect or misinformation with regards to O-bon. - Raya_

**Phantoms**

_(Return to the present…)_

Minako felt the wind stir her hair, and heard the soft sound of tinkling glass. Slowly, she opened her eyes and sighed. While she may not be able to transform any more, she could still sense the supernatural. There was no sign of Chieko's spirit.

She smiled as she looked up at the wind chime. It was made with tiny mirrors. On the top was a circus tent, and little clowns dangled down to strike the pieces of glass. '_I hope you enjoy it…_' she thought to the absent spirit as she watched the mirrors scatter light around the area. '_I just wanted to say thank you again for delivering my message to my grandfather. I hope you found a fantastic amusement park to play in_.' She took two small bottles out of her bag, and her smile widened. '_You are too young for sake, so I hope you like lemonade and spring water,_' she thought as she placed the bottles in the offering spot in front of the monument.

Placing the empty bag back in her purse, she closed her eyes and pressed her hands together once more, and then clapped them together twice. Still smiling, she turned and made her way out of the quiet cemetery.

As she walked, she passed a small family. The two children looked at her curiously. The girl's eyes widened in shock as she recognized the famous idol, and Minako stiffened. Trembling a little, the pre-teen nodded her head. Minako smiled and nodded back. The younger brother looked back and forth curiously, and then nodded to her when she nodded to him.

Curious, Minako walked a few more steps, and then slid behind a nearby tree to spy on the family. Her eyes widened as they came to a stop beside Chieko's grave. The mother exclaimed in surprise when she saw that the grave had already been washed by someone, and the girl looked curiously down the path that Minako had been on. Quickly, Minako ducked behind the tree again.

"Hey, look up there," Chieko's older brother said. "Someone gave Chieko-chan a wind chime."

"That's so pretty," her older sister said with a smile in her voice. "Chieko-chan would have loved it."

Minako smiled, pleased, and then slipped quietly onto a different path and out of the cemetery. Cautiously, she looked up and down the street, and then walked briskly to her waiting limo and slid inside. When she saw Artemis curled around the bottle of fine sake that she had purchased earlier, she gave him a mock glare and then a smile.

Artemis stiffened when he saw the playful spark flare in her brown eyes. Before he could move, however, she tossed the bundled up bag at him. He swatted it, and then glared grumpily at her as she laughed. Carefully, the limo driver pulled out into traffic and headed for the next stop.

As they pulled into a more upscale cemetery, Minako retrieved the bag and put the bottle of sake in it. When the car came to a stop once more, she lifted the bag, Artemis, and a large lunch box.

"I'll be back in just a few minutes," the idol said as she reached for the door handle. Carefully, she checked to make sure that her sunglasses and hat were firmly in place. She checked the road both for cars and fans, and then slipped out of the long black car.

Walking calmly, but looking around alertly, she walked into the cemetery. Quietly, she made her way around the monuments until she came to a secluded, yet crowded corner where most of her ancestors were buried. She walked over to one particularly tall monument and knelt down in front of it.

With a fond smile, she put her packages down, reached out, and dusted it off. "Good afternoon, Grandfather, Grandmother," she said softly as she reached for the lunch box. Suddenly, she stiffened.

"Well, it's about time," a voice said teasingly. Minako's startled brown eyes flew to the ghost hovering over the headstone. "We've been waiting forever, haven't we, Chieko-chan?"

"Grandfather…" Minako said weakly. Never in the four years she had been visiting the grave had she ever seen a ghost, much less this one.

"Yep. Kinno-ojiisan said that these cherries are the most delicious things in the world, so I've been dying to try some," a younger voice said impishly. Minako's eyes widened even further as Chieko faded into view and grinned at her.

"Oh, you two…," another voice said laughingly. "Hello, Minako-chan."

"Grandmother…" Minako gulped, and then took a deep breath. "Hello." Her grandparents chuckled, while Chieko looked back and forth between them curiously.

Finally, Minako shook herself. "Well…" She reached for the lunchbox and opened it carefully. With a smile, she dumped a large portion of yellow cherries into a stone bowl which stood in front of the monument. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she said with a smile.

"Yeah!" Chieko cheered as she dove towards the bowl. Minako's grandfather barely beat her for the first handful. The idol blinked as she saw the cherries transform into energy, which was consumed by the two ghosts. "Yummy!" Chieko exclaimed happily.

"Hey, Chieko-chan, guess what," Minako said suddenly. When the young girl looked at her, she smiled. "I think there's something waiting over at your monument, too."

"Cherries?" the ghost asked as she reached for another handful.

"Lemonade?" Minako asked, suddenly unsure. "Park lemonade?" Chieko's eyes widened, and then she squealed with delight and disappeared.

"Perfect," her grandmother chuckled. "She claims that the lemonade we get just doesn't taste right. She's been longing for something else."

"Speaking of not tasting right," her grandfather said meaningfully as he looked at his granddaughter. Minako laughed and drew the bottle of sake out of the bag. He beamed as she showed him the label, and then opened the bottle.

"Oh, Minako-san, I need to talk to you," her grandmother said, suddenly sounding serious. As Minako looked at her in concern, however, she noticed that her grandmother's eyes were dancing. "Why would you think that I would let your grandfather forget O-ban?" the ghost asked with a smile.

"I'm sorry, Grandmother," Minako replied with a grin and a bow of her head. "It won't happen again…" The three of them laughed.

"Oh, and tell your little friend he can come out now," her grandfather said cheerfully. "It would be hard for him to hear your song buried in that bag like that. Besides, he's old enough to have some of this sake." And so, the quick visit to say thank you turned unexpectedly into a quick party.

_The End_


End file.
